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Steve King: US needs to 'build a fence, then a wall, then another fence'

Rep. Steve King re-emphasized his calls to tighten America's borders in a speech on the House floor Thursday afternoon.
Rep. Steve King (R-IA) speaks during the D.C. March for Jobs in Upper Senate Park near Capitol Hill, on July 15, 2013 in Washington, D.C.
Rep. Steve King (R-IA) speaks during the D.C. March for Jobs in Upper Senate Park near Capitol Hill, on July 15, 2013 in Washington, D.C.

Rep. Steve King re-emphasized his calls to tighten America's borders in a speech on the House floor Thursday afternoon.

"I wanted to come to the floor and talk about this country that we have," King said at the beginning of a nearly half an hour-long speech that included references to Moses, Greek philosophers, Wild West gunslingers, the royal baby, and George Zimmerman.

King is facing backlash from his congressional colleagues over recent remarks about undocumented immigrants. In an interview with Newsmax last week, King asserted that the majority of undocumented immigrants are "drug mules" with "calves the size of cantaloupes because they’re hauling 75 pounds of marijuana across the desert." He has since stood by his comments, calling them "the best informed in the entire United States Congress."

During his weekly briefing Thursday morning, House Speaker John Boehner called King's remarks about undocumented youths offensive, adding, "What he said does not reflect that values of the American people or the Republican Party."

On Thursday, pro-reform advocates United We Dream said they would deliver cantaloupes to King's office.

The Iowa congressman also called on his colleagues in the House to find a way to "build a fence, then a wall, and then another fence" in order to address the problem of America's "porous" southern border. King has advocated for an electrified fence along the border in the past.

Watch DREAMers deliver cantaloupes to King's office: